Process for extracting from woods their soluble contents.



ITS. SLOPE.

PROCESS FOR EXTRAGTING PROM WOODS THEIR SOLUBLB CONTENTS. APPLIGATION FILED OUT. 22, 1913.

1,1 12,359. Patented Sept. 29,1914.

Mg K

Woods,

wood alcohol, acetone and water, with per-' UNITED STATES PA ENT orm IRVING SPENCER CLOPE, or wILK NsrURG, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIeNoR T0 EMPIRE CHEMICAL COMPANY, or ATLANTA, GEORGIA, A CORPORATION or GEORGIA.

PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING- FROMWOODS THEIR, SOLUBLE CONTENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 22, 1913. Serial No. 796,678.

I have invented and discovered certainnew and useful improvements in processes of extracting from resin bearing woods their resinous and other constituents.

My invention contemplates the extraction, from woods,

of the rosin, pine oil, turpentine,

haps other ingredients, by means of the haloid derivatives of acetylene, ethylene and ethane. I may use one or any number of these derivatives. The particular .one of these which I have found most useful, generally, is trichlorethylene. This is a compound, liquid which, at a steam pressure of 25 pounds, that is a temperature of 112 0., has no deleterious effect upon any of the usual metals. It has a boiling point of about 88 (3., and a specific gravity of 1.47. It does not decompose at its boiling point, and its vapor has a very lowtens'ion and is noninflammable.

The resinous constituents of pine, and similar woods, are very valuable, in some instances being much more valuable than vthe complete wood structure. Rosin and turpentine are particularly important products in this connection. Their extraction from the associated ligneous tissue has been attempted in many ways by the use of solvents, and many of these solvents will remove the constituents aforesaid to a considerable extent. Particularly is this true of the hydrocarbons, such as naphtha. The extractive qualities of the hydrocarbon solvents, however,

the products, particularly the of the grade that themarket good as that obtained by are such that rosin, is not demands, nor as the'ancient method of boxing the trees. This is probably due to the fact that the two acids w ich constitutethe bulk of commercial rosin, namely abietlc acid and colophomc particularly from coniferousa still for further treatment.

acid, are not equally soluble in such solvents,

and the hydrocarbon dissolves first the softer and more readily soluble one of these acids, leaving the harder and more brittle rosin constituent'behind in the fibers of the wood,

to some extentat least. A solvent of the class I use, and ene, seems to dissolve with equal readiness both the acids of the rosin, as well. as the other. constituents of the wood that I have mentioned.

After treatment, the fiber, that is the'cellulose and li nose of the wood, is left behind practically cIean, and may be turned over at once if desired, to the pulp maker, or may be used in any other way that is desired.

After extraction, the solvent liquid, to-

gether with the bodies dissolved therein, is whereby the acetone and woodalcohol are separated' subjected to fractional distillation,

first, thenthe solvent, then the turpentine and pine oil and water, leaving'the rosin behind in the still in the clear and clean mass. The solvent is, 0 course, recovered and used again.

The accompanying drawing is a diagram of an apparatus. that may be used in carrying out my process, and in which A represents a digester or vessel; B a pum' for exhausting said digester or vessel; a boiler in which the vapors of the solvent are gen erated and from which 'they pass to the digester or vessel; and D a still in WlllCh the solvent and dissolved woody constituents are subjected to'fract'ional distillation In carrying out my process I charge a digester or vessel with chips or billets of the wood"undergoing treatment. The digester Patented Sept. 29; 19 14.

particularly ,trichlorethyl form of a densef or vessel may then be exhausted of air, the a vapor from the boiling solvent is let into the digester; the chips being practically free from air, the solvent vapor immediately penetrates the pores and intercellular spaces of the wood, and the solvent action begins at once. The fact that this penetratlon has occurred induces the subsequent penetration of, the extracting vapors. As the vapors condense,'they trickle down to thebottom of the digester charged with the dissolved constituents of the Wood, and this li be continuously withdrawn, from time to time, into a receiver and led to uid may or withdrawn Condensation of substances of the class to which mine belongs occurs readily, little heat being, given I 1 densed solvent, in a manner well understood. However, instead of treatment with vapor in mow, the solvent may be used in the liquid form, the chips being either immersed therein, or the liquid solvent caused to flow through them. Or the treatment may be partly with the solvent in the liquid form, and partly with it in the form of vapor;

A I have indicated above, while my process is particularly intended for woods of coniferous genera, I do not desire or intend to be limited to the'treatment of such woods, as the solvents of the group I have used, and particularly the particular solvent, trichlorethylene, is well adapted for the extraction of most of the constituents, except the cellu-.

lose and lignose of any wood.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The process of extracting from coniferous woods, their soluble constituents, which consists in treating such woods with trichlorethylene.

2. The process of extracting from coniferous woods, acetone, wood alcohol, turpentine, pine oil and resin, which consists in treating such woods in a vacuum with vapors of trichlorethylene, allowing such vapors to condense, together with the dissolved constituents of the wood in such condensate, and subjecting the resulting solution thus formed to fractional distillation.

3. The process of extracting from coniferous woods, acetone, wood alcohol, turpentine, resin, and other soluble constituents, which consists in treating such woods with vapors of trichlorethylene, allowing such vapors to condense, together with the dissolved constituents of the wood and subjecting the resulting solution thus formed to fractional distillation.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

IRVING SPENCER OLOPE.

Witnesses:

R. M. PARKER, ERNEST WILLIAMS. 

